Stand-alone photos for Oct. 2013

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Newspaper workers use the term "stand-alone photos" to describe photographs that are displayed on their own and aren't necessarily associated with any stories. These photos add color to newspaper pages. More important, they document candid slices of life from the community that might otherwise go unrecorded. Check out this gallery to see The Gazette's stand-alone photos for October 2013.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Hopefully, this colorful maple leaf will have loosened its grip on its tree at the intersection of North Harmony and South Hawthorne Park drives by the time Janesville city crews sweep by. Workers will clean up the leaves Nov. 11-21. Leaves should be raked loosely into the street gutter without blocking the storm sewers by the time the crews move through residents’ neighborhoods. A leaf collection schedule is available at gazettextra
.com/leaves. Residents also can call 608-755-3110 for more information.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Miles Jones-Sato, 4, plays in a pile of leaves raked by his father Jim Jones on Forest Park Blvd in Janesville on Tuesday.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Tom Skinner hangs up Christmas decorations at Floral Expressions downtown Janesville Tuesday afternoon in preparation for their Holiday Open House this weekend.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Seagulls congregate on one of the towers in the Rock River near Monterey Park on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Over 100 walkers joined together for the almost two mile Breast Cancer Walk Monday evening from Simple Scissors downtown to the Watering Hole on Washington Street to raise awareness of breast cancer. Walkers paid 30 dollars to participate, with the proceeds benefiting the Rock County Cancer Coalition.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Scarlet Garcia, 2, takes candy from Judy Farrell, left, during The Boys and Girls Club of Janesville's Trunk N' Treat event where children went car to car collecting candy from the backs of volunteer's trunks.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Janelle Damrow, 5, left and Sarena Brown, 5, of Delavan sit in the back of a trunk helping to hand out candy, Friday at The Boys and Girl's Club of Janesville's Trunk 'N Treat event.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Wisconsin First Lady Tonette Walker listens to The Tree House child advocacy manager Paula Hocking on Friday, before taking a tour of the Elkhorn facility that helps children deal with abuse.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Wisconsin First Lady Tonette Walker, left, gets a look at the medical facility called The Healing Room at The Tree House in Elkhorn on Friday. The Tree House Child Advocacy Manager Paula Hocking, center, conducted the tour and was assisted by Mark Lyday, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin director of child advocacy and children's services.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Dale Pepper combines a 47 acre field of corn at The Maples Farm in the 3100 block of County Rd. F in Delavan on Wednesday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Edison Middle School eighth grader Michelle Chung works inside a circle while drawing messages about living above the influence of negative pressure along with about 20 classmates on Tuesday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Edison Middle School students left a variety of messages on the school sidewalks about living above the influence of negative pressures on Thursday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Sue Hoesly, of Janesville, drops off a bag of food items as Bess Basford of ECHO looks on during the Big Give Food Drive at Daniel's Sentry East on Saturday

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Pigeons perch in the rain atop the big apple sign in Newville on Thursday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Carol Walters keeps dry under an umbrella while walking in a light rain in the 1000 block of N. Lexington on Tuesday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

A raindrop sends a ripple through a leaf-filled puddle in the rain gutter at Blaine Ave and Caroline St. on Tuesday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Water droplets from the rain build up on the back of a maple leaf in front of 722 Caroline St. in Janesville on Tuesday.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Protesters, including members from AFL-CIO and People of Faith, gather outside of Paul Ryan's Constituent Service Center in Olde Towne Mall on a rainy Tuesday morning after delivering a petition calling for the end of the partial government shutdown.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Protesters, including members from AFL-CIO and People of Faith, gather in front of Paul Ryan's Constituent Service Center in Olde Towne Mall Tuesday morning before going inside to deliver a petition calling for the end of the partial government shutdown.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Two mallard ducks nestle their bills between their wings during a rainy and cold afternoon at Monterey Park in Janesville on Oct. 15.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettext

Gentry Madsen, 5, picks up a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch during a visit to Skelly's Farm Market by a group of students from the YMCA P4J program on Friday, Oct. 11.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Todd Wyman levels a concrete block while Chris Pelnar scoops some mortar, right, as a crew from Cornerstone Construction of Janesville does masonry work at the new Janesville Transit Services Center under construction at Highway 51 and Blackbridge Road on Thursday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Janesville Parks Department workers Kirk Anderson, left, and Wayne Cornwell clear away dirt around the cooling pond inlet at the ice rink at Traxler Park on Wednesday. Anderson and Cornwell were preparing to place a rubber liner topped with new clay to eliminate a leak that has caused problems with the rink in the past. City staff hope the rink will open for skating this winter now that the leak is being repaired. The rink was dug in 2010, and a system of pipes was supposed to feed chilled water under existing ice. The rink worked in the 2011 season, but warm weather in 2012 meant no skating season, said Matt McGrath, project engineer. In 2013, the rink would not freeze, so workers plowed snow off the nearby lagoon for skaters. Staff this summer discovered a leak was causing the rink to constantly refill with warmer water and not freeze, McGrath said. The system was under warranty, and the contractor sealed the leak. Workers added clay and granular bentonite, a material that expands when it comes into contact with water, around the manhole to improve the seal. The initial cost of the rink was about $45,000.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Patricio Castro strings pretend spiderweb material in the bushes and on the siding of his home on Sunset Dr. in Janesville while decorating for Halloween on Tuesday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Kimberly Onstad plays her fiddle in the appropriate glow of a green stage light during a performance by the band Reilly at Irish Bike Night at Kutter Harley Davidson on Thursday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Marissa Copp of Janesville dressed in green from head to toe for the Leprechaun Dash that started at Rotary Gardens in Janesville on Saturday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Tomas Cinneide of Janesville dressed as a leprechaun and attended the Leprechaun Dash, although he did not run.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra,com

The Leprechaun Dash in Janesville on Saturday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Penny Pomeroy of Beloit sports a headband adorned with a pair of leprechaun hats for the Leprechaun Dash in Janesville on Saturday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

The Leprechaun Dash in Janesville on Saturday.

Bill Olmsted/bolmsted@gazettextra.com

Mike Johnson sets a brick into place Monday that helps designate an area of the walkway in Veterans Plaza at Traxler Park in Janesville as honoring Gold Star Mothers. The group is an organization of mothers who have lost a son or daughter in the service of our country. Bricks also were placed in the Purple Heart section of the walk. Monday’s work is the last that will be done before Veterans Day ceremonies on Monday, Nov. 11.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

The Leprechaun Dash in Janesville on Saturday.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

Jean Schollmeier sweeps up debris after members of First Congregational Church tore out the 48 year old carpet from the church's sanctuary Tuesday morning to expose what they believe is the floorboards placed after the church's 1876 fire.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

The runners are off at the start of the Leprechaun Dash at Rotary Gardens on Saturday.

Nick Agro/nagro@gazettextra.com

A kayaker rows with his feet off the sides of his boat on Kiwanis Pond on Wednesday against a backdrop of changing fall leaves.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Mike Stearns wipes a tear from his eyes while visiting the grave of his father at Mt. Olivet Cemetery at the end of a 90-minute bike ride that included a lap around Riverside Park on Tuesday. Stearns said his father Robert Stearns was killed in a car crash before he was born. He said he didn't know about the grave until his girlfriend Ellen Page researched it last fall.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

A farmer kicks up dust with a combine while harvesting soy beans in the 3100 block of N. Milton-Shopiere Road in Milton on Wednesday.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Janesville Parks Department workers Kirk Anderson, left, and Wayne Cornwell, clear away dirt around the cooling pond inlet at the ice rink at Traxler Park on Wednesday. They were preparing to place a rubber liner topped with new clay to eliminate a leak that has caused problems with the rink for years.

Dan Lassiter/dlassiter@gazettextra.com

Wayne Cornwell runs a backhoe as he and Kirk Anderson of the Janesville Parks Department repair the cooling pond inlet at the Janesville Ice Rink at Traxler Park on Wednesday.